National News at a Glance

Stubborn Divide in House as a Hard-Line Bill Fails and a Compromise Is Delayed

The House rejected a hard-line immigration bill Thursday and Republican leaders delayed a vote on a compromise measure and then delayed it again, in the latest show of their party’s disarray over immigration. The compromise was supposed to be voted on early Thursday evening. It would provide a path to citizenship for young, unauthorized immigrants while keeping migrant families together at the border, in addition to funding President Donald Trump’s border wall. But with its prospects seeming dim, Republican leaders pushed the vote to Friday and met in a last-ditch effort to stave off an embarrassing defeat. Then they delayed the vote again, to next week.

Sixth-Grader’s Parents Say School Didn’t Do Enough to Stop Her Suicide

Parents of a New Jersey sixth-grader who killed herself last year after months of bullying sued school officials this week, saying the school failed to take their repeated complaints seriously and instead sought ineffectual solutions like asking the 12-year-old to hug her bullies. In the wrongful death lawsuit, Dianne and Seth Grossman said Mallory had repeatedly received negative texts and Snapchat messages from other students during her first year at Copeland Middle School in Rockaway Township. Dianne Grossman said in an interview that she routinely contacted administrators about the bullying, but the school did not do enough in response.

Charlottesville Rally Organizer Plans ‘White Civil Rights’ March Near White House

An organizer of a white supremacist rally last year in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman died plans to hold a march across the street from the White House on the rally’s anniversary in August, federal officials said Thursday. The National Park Service approved an application for a permit from Jason Kessler for an event on Aug. 11-12 that he described as a “white civil rights rally” for 400 people at Lafayette Park. In December, Charlottesville officials denied a permit request from Kessler, as well as counterprotesters, to hold a rally on the anniversary because of public safety concerns.

Koko the Gorilla, Famous for Using Sign Language, Dies at 46

Koko, the gorilla whose apparent aptitude for sign language endeared her to fans around the world, died in her sleep Tuesday morning, according to the Gorilla Foundation. She was 46. Koko became a celebrity in her youth thanks to an early facility with American Sign Language. “Koko touched the lives of millions as an ambassador for all gorillas and an icon for interspecies communication and empathy,” the foundation said in a statement. By age 4, Koko had developed a vocabulary of more than 170 words and showed an ability to use language creatively, Dr. Penny Patterson, her longtime caretaker, told The New York Times in 1975.

Banned Pesticide Killed 13 Bald Eagles at Maryland Farm

When 13 bald eagles were found dead on a farm in Maryland two years ago, the cause of death was a mystery. Details of a six-month investigation, disclosed last week, show that the eagles died from ingesting carbofuran, a highly toxic pesticide banned in the United States, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Catherine Hibbard confirmed Thursday. No arrests were ever made. The bodies of the birds were discovered in February 2016 on farmland in Federalsburg. "It definitely was a human cause. This is not a natural cause of death here,” Hibbard said.

Court Warns New York City Against Misuse Of Warrants for Material Witnesses

For years, civil liberties lawyers have accused New York police and prosecutors of misusing material witness warrants, which allow authorities to arrest people with knowledge of a crime and force them to testify in court. But law enforcement officials have been found on occasions to have used them to detain people for long periods without seeing a judge, pressuring them to give statements. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court in New York ruled that the misuse of the warrants was unconstitutional. The court said mishandling the warrants was such an obvious violation of the law that officers and prosecutors who abuse them can be sued.